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"#ChicagoGirl" Media Tool Kit

 
   
#Chicago Girl: The Social Network Takes On A Dictator follows a 19-year-old student named Ala'a Basatneh who has been helping to coordinate the Syrian revolution from a suburb of Chicago since 2011, armed with all imaginable social media.  
   

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Workshop Materials

Purchase the Film

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under the same sun

Synopsis: A 19-year-old student named Ala'a Basatneh has been helping to coordinate the Syrian revolution from a suburb of Chicago since 2011, armed with all imaginable social media. We follow both Ala'a Basatneh and her Syrian friends throughout the crucial months. We see her friends mostly through their own footage, which gives a terrifying impression of brutal violence, death and devastated streets. The story of the young Syrians is accompanied by commentary from a range of experts in the fields of Syria, war, journalism and social media.

#ChicagoGirl has won various jury prizes throughout its European festival run. including the Doc U award at the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), the Golden Butterfly in the Hague at Amnesty International's "Movies That Matter," and the Cinema for Peace and Justice Award from the Cinema for Peace Foundation in Berlin. #ChicagoGirl was named one of Amnesty International's Top Ten Human Rights Heroes of 2014.

   
 
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Director Bio | Joe Piscatella

JOE PISCATELLA has written for a host of television, film, radio, and print projects, including numerous feature scripts and television pilots for 20th Century Fox, Spyglass, Starz, and Touchstone Television. His credits include Disney's Underdog, Ozzy & Drix for Warner Bros., and Stark Raving Mad for NBC. Joe has been a contributor to NPR's All Things Considered and the Tacoma News Tribune. He has also been a contributing food and travel writer to a variety of magazines, including Women's Day, Cooking Light, and Attaché (US Air's in-flight magazine). Joe began his writing career as a speechwriter in Washington, DC, writing jokes for such clients as executives at Johns Hopkins Medical Center and high-ranking personnel in the US Air Force. In addition, he has worked with Ted Koppel at ABC Nightline News..

 

 

 
   

To Host a Screening

1. Choose Film: Purchase the film(s) you wish to screen. You can buy#Chicago Girl here.
2. Choose your date and a location where you will have the screening. (See media timeline at bottom of this list for guidelines.)
3. Once you have chosen your date and location,please let us know about it by adding it to our calendar here.
4. Plan your workshop / panel / discussion. Use our Toolkit and Resources.
5. Download a poster of the film to promote your screening: 8.5 x 11 poster jpeg
6. Make sure your logistics and program details are in place.
7. Publicize and spread the word.
8. Hold your event
9. Follow-up
 
   
       


Advertising Your Screening:

Please feel free to use the Press Packet and Media Tips / Timeline (below- will link to ) on the web site, including photographs.  These are specifically there in order to support your efforts to get the word out in your communities.There are many ways to publicize your event. Write emails to family members, friends, neighbors and community members. Ask people to RSVP for your event online via Facebook. Ask your school, place of worship, and any other organization you are a part of to help you publicize your film screening. Post flyers in your community and make announcements at community events and online through email listserves and social media to let everyone know about your event.

Co-Sponsoring Organizations

We strongly encourage you to work with co-sponsoring organizations in your community—churches, Interfaith organizations. This film is intended to bring people and groups together and bringing in co-sponsors makes this real and also increases the contacts likely to hear about the screening. Building coalitions will have long lasting and very positive widespread effects on the whole community.

MEDIA TIPS & TIMELINE

 

Here are some additional ways to get media attention:

• Write a letter to the editor, 150 to 200 about the issues covered in the film and why they are relevant.
• Write an Op-ed, providing background, a viewpoint.
• Blog about it and keep the conversation going online
• If local celebrities, like your Mayor, City Council Members, or important community members are participating include that in press releases.
• Write a short 30 second PSA for local radio stations that do community calendars.
• Submit to all local community calendars with who, what, when, where, why info.


Social Media: E-mail, Facebook, Twitter, etc., are ideal for networking and getting the word out to your lists, friends and other important people.  Link to your web site, or our site: http://www.agnt.org/


Make very  clear:  Date, Time, Location (with directions), Cost (if any)

Contact Local Media - Newspapers, local events magazines, radio, TV.  Perhaps tout this as a unique opportunity for the community to come together to discuss or dialogue about the issues in the film, get a Rabbi and an Iman. Call the paper and ask who usually covers issues, and then contact that person and invite them to come or to learn more about the movie and the event, including your organization.   Ask for the Assignment editors  or producers at local TV stations, radio or magazines and talk to them directly if you can. 

Directly invite your core audience—Church groups, family members, civic leaders, etc.  You know your community, what you are trying to accomplish, what is needed and who is important to include.  Make your invitations as personal as you can.
Have your event posted in local event calendars in your community's publications as well as on the web.
If you plan to have a panel discussion after the film, make sure that the news media knows about this and who will be on the panel (qualifications, etc.).  Also, make sure you have their commitment well in advance, and check in with them regularly.

 

Media Timeline:

As soon as possible:

1. Register your screening event with us so that we can publicize it.

2. "Like" and encourage friends to "Like" the Event on Facebook.

3. Follow @admissions and @underthesamesun on twitter and twitter about your event.

Two weeks out:

1. Blog, or ask a friend or favorite blogger to write about your event, The Welcome, and connect this event to the issues current in your community relating to veterans, community partnerships, etc.

2. Contact local paper or online news source and submit an op-ed to draw attention to your event and this issue.

3. Check in with your venue to make sure everything is ready to go on your screening date. Check in with your panel members to see if they have questions, etc.

One week out:

1. Send a short email description or a press release to reporters and follow up with a phone call to gauge their interest in attending. Include links to relevent websites, videos, press that Admissions or Under the Same Sun has already received, or anything else that would attract attention to your event. This email should be very succinct - date, time, location, as well as a short and strong statement about the film and the purpose your organizations has for putting on this screening.

2. Post on Facebook and Twitter to keep them involved and to make sure they know they are invited. This could be an exciting update as the event date approaches.

3. Post fliers locally. Make personal calls to local organizations, key people you would like to attend, screening partners, etc., and ask them to spread the word to their contacts as well.

4. Make sure you have information on the speakers, visuals, and other things needed to make your event easier to share.

The day of:

1. Have media representative from your organization or community on hand to answer questions.

2. Have your press release updated and ready for reporters and/or bloggers who show up, or to email out right after the event with highlights, images and a list of the key people or speakers who attended.

 

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